St. Landry democrat., 1887-12-17

of the Deceased-The Cause of the Trag-
edy a Subject OF Much Speculation,
The members Of the Manhatten Ath.
letic Club: at No. j34 Fifth avenue. were
greatly exercised recently over adispatch
from Paris announcing the death of Mr..
| Thomas Potter, one of the clubs most
! brilliant members. Interest IN the case
vas heightened by the fact that the mem
Der had fallen in d duel a few DAYS ago.
resulting either from love affair or
! some intrigue
| Much speculation as to the nature Of
the quarrel that caused the fatal meeting
was INDUCED in. From the meagre de-
tails received by the press and by pri-
vate dispatch to the president Of the club.
it would appear that the combatants had
for years been bosom friends Mr. Pot
| ter fought with Senior George Cormona,
and it is said that Mr.. Potter, who was al
ways a chivalrous young man, died in
avenging an insult given by Carmona to
young lady of the highest respectable
ity, but whose identity is as yet unknown
| here
! Senior Carmona is a wealthy Young
Cuban, now studying law in Paris. He
is said to be handsome, magnetic man.
with piercing black eyes and hair. He
| has been in Partisan society for four
years. He is apparently correct in de
| pertinent, faultless in dress, an epicure
| md a f,I
| tim and late Comrade, Thomas Potter,
was twenty-five years of age, blonde in
complexion and weighed $40 pounds.
| He possessed brilliant intellectual at
| tainments. He came of Quaker stock,
, his parents having been born in Phila-
| delphia, where they were very highly
connected Upon the death of her hus-
| band Mrs. Potter, her son Thomas and
her daughter Maud left Philadelphia
and purchased handsome villa in Paris.
Each year, however, they revisited Phil
adelphia and spent some weeks with
| friends in Germantown.
Thomas Potter whose means were
more than ample, made some pretense of
studying painting and loved the society
of artists, of whom he knew all of repute
in Paris, although himself but a student
! were overshadowed by his physical abili-
ties, and he was one of the best-known
amateur gentleman athletes in England.
| France and America.
To a reporter who called at the Man
haitian Athletic Club Mr.. Gus N. L. Sacks
said:
Yes. | also received dispatch relat-
ing to poor Potter's death. | first met
him in Paris in 1894, at which time he
was the champion runner Of France.
Gentlemen athletes in France usually run
under an assumed name, and Potter was
known as FoNhall, after keene's famous
horse He was president Of the Grand
Prix- Athletic Club games. Mr.. L. +.
Myers and | went to Paris together, as
Myers was to run in the Grand PriX
games. After this tournament Potter.
MYERS and | went to London and Mr..
Potter ran in several English athletic
games. his last race in England being in
the London Athletic Club games, when
Myers gave Potter sixty yards and beat
him in half-mile run. Mr.. Potter re-
turned to New York with Mr. Myers and
myself in the fall of 1884 and expressed
determination to remain here. For
some weeks he was my guest and the
guest of Philadelphians, but his heart
was in Paris, especially as his mother and
his sister Maud were still in France. He
became home-sick and returned to Paris.
Before leaving he was entered for one OF
our games. but for some reason when /
now forget he did not compete.
This last summer | was in Paris, and,
in the hope that he would eventually
make up his mind to settle in the United
States persuaded him to allow me to
propose him for membership in the Man
haitian Athletic Club. He was at the
time of his death nonresident member
in good standing. Last July saw him
run in Brussels for the Belgian cham
pionship. He was quite an artist IN
water colors and a prince of good tel
lows His mother and Miss Maud Potter
reside at No. 3 Rue de Weber and, | be
Eeye, they are related to Bishop Potter,
A few months ago Mrs and Miss Potter
arrived in the Etruria and visited friends
in Philadelphia and New York: Miss
Maud Potter is very handsome blonde
about twenty years of age and much ao-
mired. know Carmona very we'll.
The deceased was a member OF all the
prominent clubs in Paris, and an mono
rarv member of many of the best cluos
on the continent. For three years senior
Carmona and Mr.. Potter have been al,
most inseparable companions. What lea
to the fatal rupture is subject OF much
,rro,-a curp,ice - N15r T0rb, HOIId.